Until Chinese material quality equals that of the big makes, I wouldn't buy one. I want to know it's not going to corrode so badly it seizes all the bolts and blows gaskets.

Of course, I could be missing a trick here-they COULD be identical to Yams in every way. However, until someone hands me one to dismantle that's had extensive salt water use I'll be avoiding them like herpes. I've seen too many Chinese copied bike engines turn to powder in UK conditions-some in as little as 18 months.

It's amazing how it always seems to be the 1st post from someone praising these things too.

I understand peoples concerns with a new unknown product, and yes- as stated above it is my first post, I have done 40 hrs running all together with the hidea ( i have a dingy for inshore fishing) and it has never missed a beat, the reason I wanted to post about the motor is for the simple fact that no one else has, and when i was considering buying mine, i had no info to go on!

Yes it was a gamble- but so far it has paid off.

With regards to quality, I feel its under rated, it is well put together, it's pdi'd by marathon uk and the warranty is backed up from them through lots of independant marine workshops throughout, so you can have it serviced locally.

We all know how china is getting more powerful, better industrial skills, the engines are not like they were ten years ago, when all the bikes came over and fell to bits in six months, they have improved alot on thier earlier machining and testing.

I am a mechanic so I can see the motor for what it is- a good copy of a well proven yamaha.

I have faith in my Hidea, make your own minds up, but I am confident that they will prove to be a reasonable contender in the outboard market once people give them the benefit of the doubt, and lets face it with costs rising all the time I for one am glad to benefit from the savings of buying this product.

as I said we dont see enough to comment on the quality issue so I will stay well out of that one, but what do you think you would get for one 2nd hand compared to the same size engine made by Honda or Yamaha?

Its v easy to say thats they are cheap compared to a x or y makes but what I care far more about is the total cost of ownership and that includes its 2nd hand value.

Dave
ps dont take the above as a slag off, it is more a question as I would pay a lot less for a 40hp hidea than a yam or honda and I would be curious to know other forum members thoughts.

Maybe it's just a touch of ennui on my part. It was a glowing report, he reminded me of, well, me...

I thought that I could spot a Trade Member in the making - a hobby of mine. Usually I'm not far off the mark. Ah well, I'm probably just missing the Excalibur zombie posters, this would have been their time of the year

I have no opinion of Hidea outboards, one way or the other.

Seeing as you're diving in, I believe La Corbière is nice at the moment.

These outboards "might" be ok, you pay a few hundred quid less but because it's unbranded it's plummeted in value straight away and the older it gets the harder it will be to sell

I can see the appeal for low usage, but I would (did) get a decent branded used engine instead

As the sayings go.......

"you get what you pay for"

"if something seems too good to be true, it usually is"

Just to clarify this was not meant to imply hidea engines are rubbish or poor value, like most people on here I have never used one.
Thinking about it there's very few unreliable car/motorbike engines these days, and after owning loads of different makes of car I've had problems with VW and BMW however my current old and cheap citroen seems bulletproof

Firstly, I would like to clarify how although I am am a mechanic- im a car mechanic, im not a trade remember, secondly I like thestig1973's comment...... I agree, no such thing as a bad car these days....sure, some are better than others, but they will all get you home..as will Hidea

I would also like to make clear- there is no gain in me praising these outboards, i am not being sponsered by hidea!!!!! But as I said before, felt some more info was needed to make peop,le aware that there are other brands of outboard avaliable and priced for the working classes!

As for re-sale value, its a fair point, but didnt concern me too much, i intend to keep mine, and hopefully by the time I come to sell it-if I ever do, hidea will have got the word out, and they will be far more common and resaleable?!!

Tommy only time will tell if it was a wise buy, but you certainly seem happy with it and after all its your cash you've parted with, and you have a warranty, something you don't get with a second hand unit.

Totally agree that some of the big name new outboards are out of budjet for alot of people, me included.

In your case re sale value isn't a major factor so providing its reliable you may have a bargain